The Allendale Wake-Up Call

Paul Georgy serves as president/CEO of Allendale, Inc., a worldwide agricultural advisory and research firm that provides agricultural commodity price research and risk management alternatives for producers, major food companies, international corporations, foreign governments, and major news vendors.

Spot Basis Bids on corn were higher at Midwest river terminals, following firmer bids in the barge export market. Corn prices gained in the barge market due to limited farmer sales while rains kept some farmers from harvesting their crops. Barge shipping cost dropped in response to a downturn in grain volumes moving to Gulf Coast export elevators. Conversely, corn basis bids fell at processors in Illinois and Nebraska while drier weather allowed many growers to make strong harvest progress.

Brazilian Farmers are expecting another record volume of soybeans in the 2018/19 season, as favorable weather fuels expectations of yet another bumper crop in the world's largest exporter of the oilseed, according to a poll by Reuters. Brazilian producers plan to harvest 120.39 million tonnes of soybeans in the season beginning in September, a rise of 0.9 percent compared with the previous season. Planted acreage will also reach a record 36.12 million hectares (89.3 million acres), according to analyst forecasts.

USDA announced it is not planning to extend an up to $12 billion aid package for farmers into 2019, Secretary Sonny Perdue said yesterday, to mitigate farmer losses due to the imposition of tariffs on American exports. "Farmers are very resilient and adept in making their planning and marketing decisions based on the current market," Perdue told reporters in Washington.

Bulgaria Food Safety Agency reported an outbreak of the virulent bird flu virus on two duck farms in southern Bulgaria. All ducks in the villages of Malevo and Garvanovo will be culled to prevent spreading of the disease. The agency did not specify which strain of bird flu was involved. Earlier this month, veterinary authorities culled over 100,000 chickens and over 16,000 ducks after bird flu virus was detected on a poultry and a duck farm in southern Bulgaria. (Reuters)